Auscultating : MEXT Scholarship 2018 Part 1- Application and Selection Examination

Dear MEXT candidates,

Search engines probably would have brought you here for this little experience that I had in applying for the MEXT scholarship for POSTGRADUATE studies in Japan. In my case, I applied through the Malaysia's Japanese Embassy, under Japan Information Services (JIS)

It was a long process, but the hardship and stumbles along the way worth every sweat and blood you shed throughout the timeline.

1) Application

I don't think I would need to elaborate much on this part. The application period is usually between March and April each fiscal year, in 2017 they were a little later than 2018 for an unknown reason. So look out and keep refreshing the website along those lines of period. I wanted to apply in 2016, but my Final Year Project supervisor, who turned out to be a MEXT scholar herself previous suggested to do it on 2017 because I had more time to spent with her for her to assess me as a student personally, at the same time allow her to have some space to talk to her supervisor in Japan. Hence, connection is extremely important too to pave your way into a successful MEXT application.

Application basically means following every single instruction stated in the application form, without missing any changes that the embassy would apply on every single year. They can be very subtle and insidious, so you might want to be extra careful.

There are usually 2 ways of filling up the form, I usually choose the typing and printing ones because it is much neater and easier as compared to filling up by hand. Plus, there is always a soft copy available online in their website. Make sure you get the forms ready way before the deadline hits because they can be extremely picky on punctuality. You have had ample time to get ready so don't screw it up. And always get a huge envelope and label your information correctly. Where the "MEXT POST GRADUAT 20XX" should be placed is also very important. You can always choose to leave your envelope on the guardhouse to the guards to be sent to the office because they are pretty efficient and trustworthy, at least in Malaysia.

So basically there were No. 1 to 8 on the application form, where only no. 6 and 7 were the ones I had troubles with. No. 1-5 and 8 were all about your details. However, no. 6 was about your past research, and no. 7 will be the research theme you are proposing to be done in Japan. The embassy stated specifically that no guides will be given in preparing these two parts of the application, which made it a huge problem for veterinary students like me as we had little to no research background apart from our FYP because our program geared us towards being a clinician as compared to Japanese vet schools where research remained as their base for the last 3 years in vet school.

For no. 6, it was basically a summary from my previous research. We had to write and abstract for all the thesis we prepared for the FYP, so I modified my abstract and used it for no.6.

As for No. 7, there were 3 parts; a) the current research, b) the theme for the research in Japan and c) the research proposal in Japan.

a) was basically my modified abstract again
b) would be the title of the research in Japan
c) would be the detailed proposal, from the introduction, why is there a need of the research, the objectives and the outcome; and don't forget your references.

Where did I get all my inspirations? To be honest, I've already managed to secure my prospective supervisor way before I applied for MEXT, thanks to my FYP supervisor who used to work under my new supervisor. Hence, you might want to start looking out for potential supervisors and contact them, propose to them your interest in continuing education in their lab or institution with the support of MEXT, then get a title from them to use it as your resources in applying for MEXT.

Once you've gotten all this done, send your application away.

2) Selection Examination

The letter is usually sent to you around May or June if you were successfully selected for the selection examination. For postgraduates, there are 2 main papers to be taken which are the English paper and the Japanese paper.

You might be thinking that Japanese's level of English may not be as hard as you think; this is when you need to think twice. The English can be easy, but tricky. You need to be as obnoxious, as OCD, as detailed and as grammar Nazi-mode as you can get during the whole examination. I would strongly suggest you to attempt the past year examinations to gauge your level. For a person like me who have gotten Band 5 in MUET, 108/120 in TOEFL and Band 8.0/9.0 in IELTS, it was still a little tough.

Japanese paper was divided into 3 levels, basic, intermediate and advanced; I tried all 3 but I would say it was still extremely hardcore for a non-native speaker, despite my JLPT at level N2. Don't worry if your Japanese is elementary or close to zero because the only gauge for post grad is actually the English test. If you feel like you don't wish to waste time or stress yourself attempting the Japanese paper on the exam day, you may leave after writing your name.

For the test, be punctual and make sure you have your stationery prepared. They are using 2B pencils still, so its pretty much the same as other tests you have been taking. Make sure you do not stop checking your English paper answers over and over again even after you have completed. Check and check all the grammars, all the possible permutations and read if the sentence actually made sense. These helped me pass the test.

So this is basically the first round. Part 2 will be on the interview and second application instead.